Is craving the same as instinct? And if there is a difference, what is it?

No. Sometimes a craving may be instinctive, that is, a biological imperative, but not necessarily. Think of it this way--is a heroin addict instinctively drawn to heroin, which will kill him?

Definitely, I agree with Tamukha.

I also think that, in regard to food, there are a lot of factors involved.

According to Dr. Barnard, some foods actually contain substances that cause or trigger addiction, like sugar, chocolate, and cheese. Then again, people develop food pattterns or preferences that they crave out of habit.

I have a theory that the body might crave certain foods depending on nutrients that are missing. If the body is familiar with lots of good healthy foods, the body will crave those. If not, the body might crave whatever foods - healthy or not - that provided something similar to what is really needed.

Foods that I used to crave - like gooey cheese for instance - now seem pretty gross. IMO, unhealthy cravings can go away with time, as long as the body is getting the nutrients it needs.

I think that a craving is about filling a need that is not being met at that moment in time.

When i reach out for something without feeling hungry, I simply ask myself what it is that I'm trying to feed.
The more that i practiced this, the easier and quicker the answer came. I then consciously chose if i wished to proceed.
In short, i became present. sometimes this practice was/is a little painful,then the laughter follows!

craving has 7 letters

instinct has one more letter

i don't know

they seem the same to me

i thought they were just words

who knows

maybe webster knows

Quote

Is craving the same as instinct? And if there is a difference, what is it?

Generally cravings are caused by instincts gone awry. For example humans evolved in a food scarce environment where they had to work very hard for their food. This is why overeating is just a common craving. Food in the belly was like money in the bank for most of our history. Large corporations further take advantage of these instincts by creating food with large amounts of sugar (sweet = high calorie), fat (fatty = high calorie) & salt (salty signifies high mineral content as in sea vegetables, well at least naturally it does, refined salt lies to you) to trigger cravings. Also chemical additives are used to further hook you. Food, cigs, alcohol, shopping are also all advertised as comfort-activities & most of us crave comfort in this insecure world (and due to various inadequacies on the part of those who raised us, also encouraged by society). Powerful corporations (and sheisty individuals) manipulate our instincts & associations to create cravings.

Sometimes a food craving might be genuine though (especially on a restricted diet) & you should respect it if it's for non-processed food. I especially feel this way if you are pregnant or nursing. Put your body's innate wisdom above a philosophy you would like to believe is perfect.

I agree with CB.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

cb

"food in the belly was like money in the bank"
HA HA!! That is soooo funny but true.

especially when
there were times of
drought, cold long prolonged winters etc.

CB, & David Zane,
I would like to recapture natural instinctive eating. Whats the best way? I am so used to patterned eating, and eating according to what someone has said about the benefits or nutrient content of particular foods. I still often read lables, or look up food content information. I think its probably best to get away from that.

What I think now, is to just start eating, see how something tastes, smells, looks, texture, how satisfying it is etc...and concentrate on that. Of course selecting foods I suspect are natural. With GMOS and irradiation, and other factors sometimes its difficult to always know what is natural.

what do you think? any more advice?

Dear Mislu,
Instincts is what I like to follow. This approach is the most natural to me, simple and very satisfying. Eating only when hungry, drinking only when thirsty, resting when tried, these are the patterns I like to follow. When the body is hungry, it will manifest its desire in the form of hunger. This is an instinct. The taste test, which should only be applied to raw, unprocessed, mono foods, is an indication whether the body needs something or not (= foods taste appealing or not). Cravings, on the other hand, are the result of mind-based desires associated with the past behavioral patterns, or detox-induced desires associated with the body getting rid of some toxins ingested in the past. Cravings are violent, while hunger is a gentle phenomenon.
Love,
Gosia


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Mislu: I personally am big into lists. It's a form of self-questioning. I like to make a list of what I think are the WORST things I am eating on one side....and the BEST things I could possibly eat on the other. It gives a sort of visual aid of what my instincts really are. You know?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Gosia,
Thank you for your comments. The most interesting is "hunger is a gentle phenomenon." I had never thought about it. The closest however, is that I often feel protected by the universe when I am eating raw.

David,
That is certainly one approach. I noticed that my sense of what is the best and what is not changes. My idea of 'junk' foods are now above what I used to consider healthy food. Other items are just simply not considered anymore, they just simply aren't foods to me anymore.

Food instincts seem to become sharper the healthier you become, and eventually will replace false-body addictions. I would definitely listen to your body if you crave healthy rawfoods! For example, if you really crave figs, or cucumbers, or chocolate your body likely needs certain properties or minerals contained therein.